Erin Patterson trial: Woman who hosted deadly mushroom lunch used different coloured plate, jury told
Erin Patterson, an Australian woman accused of murdering three of her estranged husband’s elderly relatives by poisoning their food, used four large identical grey plates for her guests but a smaller, tan coloured one for herself, prosecutors claimed on Wednesday.
On 29 July 2023, Ms Patterson, 50, hosted a lunch at her home in Leongatha, a small rural town in Victoria about 136km (85 miles) southeast of Melbourne. She invited her former in-laws, Donald and Gail Patterson, both 70, along with Gail’s sister Heather Wilkinson, 66, and Heather’s husband, Ian Wilkinson, 68.
In the days that followed, all four guests fell ill after the lunch of beef Wellington, mashed potatoes and green beans, the court was told, with symptoms later confirmed to be caused by death cap mushroom poisoning. Gail Patterson and Heather Wilkinson died on 4 August, Don Patterson the next day, while Ian Wilkinson survived after being critically ill.
Ms Patterson is charged with the murders of Gail and Donald Patterson and Heather Wilkinson, along with the attempted murder of Ian Wilkinson. Ms Patterson denies the charges.
The prosecution, led by senior counsel Nanette Rogers, told the jury on Wednesday: “Donald, Gail, Ian and Heather each ate from the large, grey-coloured dinner plate, the accused ate from the smaller plate.”
Guests later questioned why she used a different plate. When Ms Patterson’s estranged husband, Simon, arrived at his aunt and uncle’s house on 30 July 2025, Heather Wilkinson allegedly mentioned the unusual plate choice.
“I noticed Erin put her food on a different plate to us. It had colours on it, I wondered why that was,” Dr Rogers told the jury, referring to the conversation Heather Wilkinson had with Simon.
Later, while heading to the hospital, Heather Wilkinson again questioned Simon about Ms Patterson’s choice of plates, Dr Rogers said. “Is Erin short of crockery? I was wondering why she served herself on a different plate,” Heather said, the Sydney Morning Herald reported.
Ms Rogers told the jury Simon responded that Ms Patterson “didn’t have a lot of plates and might have run out”.
Ms Rogers said that despite Ms Patterson and Simon separating in 2015, they remained “friendly, amicable and affable” while continuing to co-parent.
“Simon remained hopeful that he and the accused would reconcile,” she said.
Ms Rogers told the court that Simon first observed a “change” in Ms Patterson’s behaviour in 2022, after he submitted a tax return noting their separation.
“Their communication started to decline,” she said.
On Wednesday, the jury also heard that Ms Patterson told hospital staff her two children ate leftovers from the same meal but weren’t sick because she had scraped off the mushrooms, claiming they were picky eaters.
